Weingartner grew up in a world where political
heroes were less sinister than they have come to be since. Times
had already changed by 1936 in Austria but Weingartner remained
true to Beethoven as he knew him. The first movement of the "Eroica"
moves swiftly but with an easy one-in-the-bar swing so that you
are never conscious of the music being driven. The opening melody
sings like a great string quartet launching the first of Beethoven’s
"Razoumovsky" Quartets. Weingartner is supple in moulding
certain transitions, more so than his reputation for objectivity
would lead you to expect. He is also adroit in picking up his
basic tempo again without a bump. The overall effect is of a seamless
unfolding of the vast movement with a great deal of inner vitality.

After one of the swiftest first movements on
disc, now comes a very broad Funeral March. Weingartner does not
try to give significance to every single note and dot; he concentrates
on the long lines and gives the music a dignified eloquence which
is memorable. In common with all conductors who essay a very slow
tempo for this movement, he has to move forward in the major-key
episodes; somewhat disconcertingly, when the March-theme is recapitulated
against triplet-figuration in the strings he sticks to the faster
tempo he has attained, dropping back abruptly to his slow main
tempo at the strings’ E flat major threnody. This is nevertheless
a deeply impressive utterance.

It may be of interest to list the timings in
this movement of various conductors from the generation following
Weingartner. Oddly enough, the only one to be longer still is
the usually swift Erich Kleiber; the fastest is Weingartner’s
declared admirer Sir Adrian Boult. In the middle come two who
by reputation should be slower:

Weingartner’s Scherzo is a highly vivacious affair,
with no slackening for the trio, while the finale unfolds with
a steady momentum. The "Poco andante" passage is not
transformed into an Adagio and the final Presto is a terrific
display.

The recording is occasionally top-heavy and certain
climactic passages retreat from the listener. It nevertheless
gives a full-blooded impression of the pre-war VPO playing in
the famed acoustic of the Grosser Musikvereinsaal. In comparison
with the British orchestras heard in other parts of this cycle,
the alleged superiority of the VPO is not so certain. They have
a corporate feeling of style, certainly, but the oboe near the
beginning of the Funeral March is woefully flat and there is suspect
wind intonation in many of the chordal passages in this movement.
The horns, on the other hand, are glorious in all four movements.
Still, this is an important recording, without any doubt.

If you want to hear the difference between vitality
and tense drive (any conductor can goad the orchestra along at
a smartish lick), hear Weingartner’s Fourth. After an introduction
which impresses for its slow but inexorable tread, the first movement
proper is very swift indeed, yet with such a relaxed one-in-the-bar
feeling that one is never conscious of speed in itself. The textures
have the transparency of the best quartet playing. The second
movement, too, is no six-in-a-bar plod; the pervasive dotted rhythm
in the accompaniment sets up a gentle lapping movement against
which the melodies unfold gently and expressively but with no
hint of sentimentality. Weingartner was clearly a master of the
genuinely vivacious scherzo, for the third movement is a highly
spirited, up-front affair with only minimal slackening for the
trio. On the other hand, he does not over-drive the finale, opting
for a tempo in which every 16th-note can be clearly
heard; again, real vitality as opposed to superficial brilliance.

Although Obert-Thorn’s note warns us that the
original sound was "marred by a boxy acoustic and mastering
flaws" the results in this transfer are remarkably satisfying,
and the fine quality of Beecham’s LPO yields nothing to the VPO
in the "Eroica". 70 years on this performance still
shines as a model which few have matched since. I should point
out that repeats are at a premium throughout this cycle, due presumably
to 78 side-lengths but this hardly detracts from the vitality
and humanity of the music-making to be heard in this first recorded
Beethoven cycle.

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